Encounters
by otherwiseme
Summary: Tumblr prompt: we both got kicked out of our rooms because our roommates are having sex so now we're standing in the hallway awkwardly AU ItaSaku


Sakura hummed quietly as she unlocked the door to her dorm. Today had been a good day.

After she went for a run at the gym this morning, she got home and promptly hopped into the shower. Then she headed to her controlled sedation seminar while grabbing a muffin and coffee on the way. Even though the entire class (including professor Tsunade) keeled over with laughter when she stubbed her toe and swore in the middle of the lecture, it was still a pretty good day.

Sakura plonked her bag on the ground and shrugged out of her coat. She looked up and then her day became not so great as she watched Ino straddle some random guy on the bed. Naked.

Sakura felt her face grow hot as she stumbled towards the door and slapped a hand over her mouth, trying to muffle her mortified spluttering sounds. She mentally kicked herself for being so caught up in her thoughts. If it were any consolation, Sakura thought, clearly neither of them had heard her come in considering the sounds they were making.

Sakura gently closed the door with fumbling hands, praying to all the gods she knew that they hadn't seen her. She could still hear them moaning from the hallway and she flushed as she realised that if she could still hear them, her neighbours probably could too.

She turned around to sit on the floor with the door to her back. God, Pig! Sakura thought irritably. The least you could do is chuck a sock on the door. I mean it's common courtesy! While she busied herself trying to mentally clear her mind of her one-sided encounter with Ino, a door slammed to her right and Sakura flinched at the sound. This whole getting lost in thought thing is really getting out of hand, she thought. Pretty ironic considering it had gotten her in this position in the first place.

She looked over to the direction of the sound to find a somewhat vaguely familiar face. There was a guy (or man she supposes) standing outside his dorm, which happened to be one door down from hers.

He wore a Konoha University t-shirt and black track pants with a white drawstring around the front. Sakura caught herself staring and flushed. Wow, okay chill. That was a weird thing to notice. You don't know his name but you're already eyeing up his crotch. Real classy Sakura.

She watched dazedly as water dripped from his inky-black hair and seeped into his shirt.

He must've just come out of the shower, Sakura idly noted.

The door in front of him swung open and she watched as he bickered with his shirtless roommate (wasn't he on the swim team?). It seemed as though they had reached an agreement when Swim Team Guy slammed the door for the second time, the sound resonating through the hallway.

Drawstring Guy sighed quietly and turned to sit on the floor, leaning against the wall.

The silence began to fill the awkward space, making Sakura hyperaware of the sounds coming from her dorm room. She blushed and quickly cleared her throat to say something until moans began seeping from Swim Team's room and joined the noise emitted her own dorm.

Forgetting her current situation, Sakura giggled at the coincidence. She accidentally caught Drawstring Guy's eye and stopped abruptly when he gave her a peculiar look.

Sakura was not surprised to see that his eyes were as black as his hair. He had a strong jawline and a lovely delicate nose that reminded her of someone.

In short, he was painfully attractive.

"Sasuke!" She exclaimed. He gave her a quizzical look.

"That's who you remind me of!" She continued. "I met him in high school, you're his older brother. I remember seeing your face when I went to his house for Christmas last year. Naruto was there as well." A smile lit up her face as she finally pinned a name to his face. "Itachi, isn't it?" She asked.

"Yes." He replied curtly.

Sakura rolled her eyes. Guess the inability to act polite runs in the family.

"Well, I'm Sakura." She smiled kindly. His eyes flickered to her hair.

Sakura flushed. "Yeah, it's a little ironic." She laughed, self-consciously reaching up to pat her pink hair affectionately. "Guess my parents really had it in for me huh." The corner of Itachi's lips twitched.

The silence slowly seeped back into their conversation, albeit one-sided as it was.

"I mean I'd invite you in but obviously-" Sakura gestured to the thumping noise coming from her room. Itachi merely stared.

Sakura sighed. Why are Uchihas always so stoic?

Attempting to ignore the obscene noises coming from their respective dorms, Sakura asked, "So what are you studying at Konoha Uni?" Surprisingly, Sakura received a reply.

"I'm majoring in Psychology and minoring in Criminology." He looked her expectantly.

"Oh! I'm studying Medicine. Under Professor Tsunade." She added. Itachi nodded and an expression of sympathy flitted across his annoyingly handsome features.

He stood up gracefully and dusted off his knees. How can someone even stand up gracefully? Is that even a thing?

"Would you like to get some coffee?" Itachi asked suddenly. Amusement coloured his face when Sakura gave him a bewildered look. He shrugged. "Given my experiences with Medicine students, they never turn away a cup of coffee." He said politely.

Sakura smiled. "Yeah, uh, yes please." She climbed to her feet and tried to get into her dorm to no avail. The door was locked. Mortification washed over her as it dawned on Sakura that Ino-Pig must have realised that she had come in. Her face flushed as she looked over at Itachi with a sheepish expression.

"Could I borrow a coat?" She asked meekly.

Itachi sighed and gave Sakura a look of mild exasperation. She hoped that he didn't regret inviting her for coffee.

He swung open the door and calmly entered his dorm, only to be welcomed to a string of colourful curses from his roommate. Sakura couldn't help but sidle over and peek inside the room.

She really wished she hadn't.

* * *

><p>Swim Team Guy was in a position uncannily similar to Ino's. A naked girl sat on top of him while he yelled at Itachi and oh God, Sakura choked and quickly shielded her eyes while spinning away from the door. While she attempted to calm her heartbeat, Itachi emerged from behind the door with two coats and a scarf. He handed her a dark navy coat that completely dwarfed her when she put it on. The sleeves hung over her hands and the bottom of the coat reached her ankles.<p>

Itachi ducked his head but Sakura still managed to catch a glimpse of his smile. Fuck. He was really, really attractive. He was the kind of attractive that made Sakura flush for no reason. Coupled with the most adorable half-smile, Itachi made you want to melt in your shoes into goop and never get up.

"Maybe this coat's a little big for me." Sakura laughed. Smile fading fast, Itachi handed over the other coat.

"It's my roommate, Kisame's." He explained. "You're welcome to wear my one if you'd like." Sakura carefully took off Kisame's coat and donned Itachi's one. Itachi held out his hand expectantly for Kisame's coat. Still caught up in the bizarreness of the whole encounter, Sakura bemusedly placed her smaller hand in Itachi's.

Caught off guard by the contact, Itachi started. "The coat."

Sakura blushed when she realised that her hand was currently resting in Itachi's warm one. "Oh!" She laughed awkwardly as she hastily withdrew her hand, replacing it with the coat. "Right."

As Itachi busied himself with putting on Kisame's coat, Sakura inspected Itachi's coat. It ended mid-calf and had a soft, silky interior. The coat itself was black with little red buttons in the shape of a cloud.

"Adequate?" Itachi asked, eyes tinted with mirth.

"I guess it'll do." She shrugged with a smile. They walked along the corridor together and down the stairs in silence. "Cute." Sakura blurted. Gesturing to the red clouds on her coat. "I never thought you'd be the kind of guy that would pay attention to detail."

"It was a gift from my parents for my 18th." He replied, stoic demeanour restored. Sakura nodded knowingly and treaded carefully around the topic. Seasick and Itachi's parents had died in a car crash four years ago, shortly after Itachi had turned 18.

"I think it's lovely." She said softly.

* * *

><p>They exited the building side by side to a faceful of icy wind. Sakura instinctively reached to cover her ears. So what if she looked like a total doof while doing so? Her ears were sensitive and she felt a sense of duty to protect them. Itachi can deal with walking with a seemingly-crazy student walking in the snow covering her ears.<p>

Sakura heard a chuckle from her right as they trudged through the snow and turned her head. She stopped in her tracks. Did Itachi just laugh? She looked over to see the faintest trace of a smile on Itachi's face as he unwound the scarf from his neck. Sakura shot him a puzzled look.

"Put your hands down please." Itachi said.

Sakura reluctantly lowered her hands and opened her mouth to defend her weird ears but Itachi surprised her by wrapping his scarf around her neck. Itachi's breath warmed her nose as he carefully made sure to cover her ears.

Sakura breathed, "Oh." Her cheeks went bright red and she inwardly cursed herself for being so easily flustered. She could count his eyelashes as he wound the scarf around her and she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and indulge herself in the moment but a niggling voice at the back of her head told her that it probably wasn't such a good idea.

Itachi stepped back for a moment to admire his handiwork and then continued making his way towards the bright beacon of warmth that was the campus cafe.

Sakura quickly recovered from her surprise and fell back into step with Itachi feeling much warmer. As they neared the cafe, Sakura mulled over this side of Itachi in her mind. The earliest memory she had of Itachi was when she went over to Sasuke's house for the first time when she was fourteen; she had bumped into him in the kitchen when she had gone to get a drink of water.

Even though he was older by four years, Itachi was curt, abrasive and bore a grim expression most of the time she was there. Back then she never would have thought that he would be able mature so quickly into such a courteous man, let alone handsome to the point where it was unfathomable.

She wondered if he remembered their first encounter.


End file.
